Though they’re inextricably tied to the legacy of Pentagram via founding drummer/guitarist Geof O’Keefe and guitarist Randy Palmer (RIP), Bedemon‘s early works collection Child of Darkness is the kind of essential, foundational doom that really no riff-loving home should be without. Originally released, as the title says, “From the Original Master Tapes,” by Black Widow Records in 2005 and in the US on Vessel Records the next year, the compilation of Bobby Liebling-fronted material will see a vinyl/CD pressing through Relapse next month ahead of Bedemon‘s appearance as part of the ultra-impressive Psycho California festival (info here) this May, the headliners for which are due to be announced next week. With Bang and Bedemon on the bill, I wouldn’t be surprised to have Pentagram show up as well, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

O’Keefe (interview here) oversaw the release of Bedemon‘s first official full-length, Symphony of Shadows (track stream here), in 2012 on Svart. The PR wire brings tales of darkness:

Bedemon (early Pentagram): Child of Darkness to See Reissue

Archival Recordings From America’s First Doom Band To Be Released February 24th

Relapse Records is proud to announce the official re-release of BEDEMON’s archival recordings, Child of Darkness. Widely considered America’s first doom metal band, BEDEMON formed in 1973 and consisted of original Pentagram members Randy Palmer, Geof O’Keefe, and Bobby Liebling. The group was an offshoot of Pentagram, with a darker and doomier tone. BEDEMON recorded various sessions spanning from 1973-1979 which are being made available once again after being out-of-print for over 10 years.

Child of Darkness will be made available on CD/LP on February 24th. Pre-Orders are available HERE while the title track is available for listening via YouTube HERE and via Soundcloud HERE.

Additionally, the release includes extensive liner notes from original members Mike Matthews and Geof O’Keefe and is a must for fans of Pentagram or traditional doom metal. BEDEMON’s Child of Darkness is truly a crucial glimpse into the nihilistic minds that gave birth to an entire genre!

Bedemon is:
Randy Palmer (deceased), visionary songwriter and guitarist
Mike Matthews, bass and lead guitars
Geof O’Keefe, drums and lead guitar
Bobby Liebling, lead vocals

Pre-Order ‘Child of Darkness’ from Relapse Records HERE

1. Child Of Darkness
2. Enslaver Of Humanity
3. Frozen Fear
4. One-Way Road
5. Serpent Venom
6. Last Call
7. Drive Me To The Grave
8. Into The Grave
9. Skinned
10. Through The Gates Of Hell
11. Touch The Sky
12. Child Of Darkness II
13. Time Bomb
14. Nighttime Killers
15. Axe To Grind

http://www.relapse.com/bedemon
https://www.facebook.com/bedemondoom
http://bedemon.com/
https://www.facebook.com/psychocalifornia

Bedemon, “Child of Darkness”

Theirs is doom a decade in the making, and yet, with the buzzsaw lead that rips a hole right through “The Plague,” mysterious Virginian doom forebears Bedemon sound organic and classic. The recording of their new album, Symphony of Shadows (Svart Records) is rough and that only adds to its heavy ’70s sensibilities — the undulating riff that seems directly built out of Black Sabbath‘s “Electric Funeral” should be enough to give an exact idea of where the band is coming from.

And it’s been a hard road to get them here. Bedemon — guitarist Randy Palmer, bassist Mike Matthews, drummer Geof O’Keefe (a founding member of Pentagram) and vocalist Craig Junghandel — recorded the basic tracks for Symphony of Shadows in April 2002, with Matthews and O’Keefe handling the majority of the guitar leads. Just a few months later, Palmer died in a tragic car accident and the band was completely derailed. They decided to persist and finish the incomplete recordings, interpreting Palmer‘s songwriting from the basic tapes of riffs and the lyrics he’d left behind, but between mourning, recording vocals, mixing, various other personal shakeups and life in general, a full 10 years passed between the recording and the release.

In that regard, though, the timing couldn’t be better. Bedemon‘s restored 2005 collection of oft-bootlegged early ’70s material, Child of Darkness — on which the band was fronted by Bobby Liebling — helped bring the band critical and audience acclaim like they’d never known before, and while I don’t necessarily think you can fairly say a record that arrives seven years later is capitalizing on the momentum of its predecessor, at very least the doom heads Symphony of Shadows is looking to reach won’t have to be told who the band is or reminded of O’Keefe‘s foundational contributions to some of the earliest of the American works in the genre. That’s bound to be a leg up.

More importantly, Symphony of Shadows is of quality enough to stand on its own, and “The Plague” gives a more than solid indication of the means by which it does so. Please find the track on the player below, and enjoy:

[mp3player width=460 height=150 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=bedemon.xml]

Bedemon‘s Symphony of Shadows hits iTunes/Amazon on Aug. 25, the same day it’s out in Continental Europe, through Svart. A Sept. 5 release follows for the UK and the record is primed to hit North American shores on Oct. 23. For more info, check out Bedemon‘s site, their Thee Facebooks, or the label’s page. Thanks to Svart and Nathan T. Birk for permission to host “The Plague.”